


arrogance diminishes wisdom

by RexIsMyCopilot



Series: Anakin/Obi-Wan [10]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Anakin does something really stupid, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Developing Relationship, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:29:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29708889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RexIsMyCopilot/pseuds/RexIsMyCopilot
Summary: Anakin underestimates a pirate threat while on a mission. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka are there to rescue him.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Anakin/Obi-Wan [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2145300
Comments: 12
Kudos: 69





	arrogance diminishes wisdom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [27beansprouts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/27beansprouts/gifts).



> This one is a gift for 27beansprouts because I had this one started a while ago, but I didn't know how to finish it. And then I read "both kinds of luck" and I was inspired to finally get it done! Definitely go read their stuff because it's well worth it! (Sorry, 27beansprouts, that I gift you all the whumpy ones lol)
> 
> Anyway... this is a hurt/comfort fic with some angst. 
> 
> Oh, Anakin, you silly man. Sometimes I wonder what you thinking.

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan shouted urgently from behind Anakin’s pilot seat. 

“Now’s not the time, Obi-Wan!” Anakin shot back. 

“Master! Pull up!” Ahsoka yelled what Obi-Wan was thinking. 

“I’ll pull up when it’s time,” Anakin growled through gritted teeth. He flipped a switch on his console and pressed harshly on a button. “Kriff!” he shouted into the cockpit and harshly pulled up on the joystick, jolting Ahsoka and Obi-Wan back into their seats.

“Prepare for landing!” Anakin shouted. 

“I shouldn’t have to prepare for landing if we aren’t crashing!” Ahsoka countered. 

“Then prepare for  _ crashing _ ,” Anakin said through gritted teeth, his agitation rising. 

A harsh few bumps and thumps and the  _ Twilight _ came to a complete stop on a grassy slope. 

Obi-Wan let out a breath. “Anakin, what happened!” It was less a question and more of a demand. 

“There’s something wrong with the ship, Obi-Wan,” Anakin hissed back, his tone expressing sheer exasperation at the question. 

“Well, we made it,” Ahsoka broke into the conversation before it could turn into a sparring match. 

Anakin grimaced, but lowered the door for them to exit the defective ship. He was thankful that the door even opened. At least his humiliation that his ship sometimes barely held together was somewhat quelled. 

“Fortunately, you should have plenty of time to fix it,” Obi-Wan said, crossing his arms and waiting for Anakin to descend the ramp. 

“Thank the Maker that two Jedi were needed to retrieve one holocron,” Anakin rolled his eyes. 

“Three,” Ahsoka added. 

“You  _ are _ still my Padawan,” Anakin side-eyed her. 

“Three,” Obi-Wan agreed. 

“Even better,” Anakin frowned. “It’s a holocron,” he repeated. “Not exactly high stakes.” 

“And yet, this is our mission, Anakin,” Obi-Wan reminded him sternly.

“Well, Dallenor is an archaeological dig site,” Ahsoka said, poking through a data pad. “And I suppose we’re walking the rest of the way.”

* * *

“I’m sorry, General Kenobi,” Clatriffe said again. “But the pirates came here yesterday for it and we didn’t have enough defenses. I had to forfeit it.”

“I’m not blaming you,” Obi-Wan said gently, his voice genuine and comforting. “We’ll find it again and get out of your way.” 

Clatriffe’s lekku twitched slightly, but her voice was soft. “I just want it out of here,” she repeated. 

“Where did the pirates go?” Anakin asked. 

“They headed for the hills that way,” she pointed in the opposite direction of their ship. “They have a camp on the other side of that ridge. We’ve been fortunate enough to avoid them for this long.”

“Great. More walking,” Ahsoka complained when Clatriffe had left. 

Anakin frowned at the comment. “Then we better get moving,” he huffed. 

“We aren’t going anywhere in the dark,” Obi-Wan said, observing the sun almost at the horizon. He clutched at a sore spot on his forearm and drew up his sleeve revealing a large bruise.

Anakin felt a pang of guilt seeing the swollen area, not completely done darkening into a deep purple. It was clearly from the not-unlike-a-crash landing, he knew.

“I’ll live,” Obi-Wan comforted, feeling Anakin’s guilt resonate between them. “We’ve been offered a place to stay here temporarily,” he continued. “And we’re going to take them up on their kind offer.”

Ahsoka tried to match her master’s annoyance, but it barely hid the relief she was feeling. 

* * *

Obi-Wan pulled back the tent flap, allowing a small smile on his face as he watched Anakin and Ahsoka tease one another. “From what I could gather from Clatriffe,” Obi-Wan began, reluctantly interrupting their conversation and his hand on his chin, “their camp is about 3 klicks from here.”  
“That close?” Anakin asked, surprised. “It really is lucky they haven’t encountered these pirates before.” 

“I think we ought to be able to easily head them off early tomorrow morning. There aren’t many of them. She mentioned only three, calling themselves the Krypder Riders,” Obi-Wan noted. 

“Three? That’s it?” Anakin scoffed. “They couldn’t fend off three pirates?” he joked. 

“They aren’t fighters. They’re academics," Obi-Wan scolded. 

Anakin’s smirk quickly left his face.  **_Sorry, Master._ **

Obi-Wan gave him a look, as if telling him he should have said that out loud. “As I was saying,” he continued, “she mentioned she only  _ knows _ of three, but there could be more, though probably not many.”

“If we can get there by the early morning, we may be able to catch them by surprise,” Ahsoka offered. 

“If they haven’t seen our ship,” Anakin pointed out. 

“It’s a good thing you so cleverly crashed it 5 klicks out from the dig site,” Obi-Wan said with a wry smile. 

Anakin didn’t try to hide the scowl. “Very funny,” he said flatly. “And I didn’t crash it. It just needs some minor adjustments.”

“So it could fly us out of here?” Obi-Wan asked, his eyebrow raised. 

“Well,” Anakin scratched the back of his head. “Depends how far you want to go,” he finished quickly, his voice higher than he meant. “And if you plan on landing safely,” he said into his hand.

Ahsoka scoffed and rolled her eyes. 

“Something you want to say, Snips?” Anakin frowned. 

“I don’t think I need to,” Ahsoka smirked. 

“No, you don’t,” Anakin grumbled. 

“Enough,” Obi-Wan stepped in. “Let’s get some sleep and we’ll head out early tomorrow,” he finished. 

* * *

Anakin tossed from side to side on his cot. He could hear Obi-Wan breathing deeply in his sleep in a cot across the tent with Ahsoka sleeping between them. His mind ran through the events of the landing, wondering what might have gone wrong. 

He had been foolish to insist they take his ship when the shuttles were faster and more reliable, but he had wanted so desperately to prove that his ship was space worthy.

But he couldn’t stop the thought that maybe if they had taken the T-6 like Obi-Wan had suggested, they could have gotten there before the holocron was forfeited. 

_ There are only three of them, _ he thought.  _ And even if there are more, I can take them. _

It was a bad idea, he knew, but it was better than trying to sleep with no success. He pushed his blanket back and gingerly sat up, trying his best to minimize the creaks from the cot. When neither Obi-Wan nor Ahsoka stirred, he picked up his boots and lightsaber and carefully crept from the tent. 

Anakin shivered against the cold as he stared up at the night sky. Every time he was away from Coruscant, he realized how much he missed looking up at a night sky shimmering with stars. 

He pulled on his boots and set out for the hills beyond the horizon.  _ The sooner I get the holocron, the sooner we can leave. _

* * *

This had not been his plan, Anakin thought as he hung from an energy hook by his wrists high above the mocking pirates. 

They laughed as they pressed a button and the shock collar around his neck went off again causing another intense jolt of pain through his body. 

He panted, catching his breath, waiting once again for another shock, trying to figure out where the pirates had put his lightsaber. He wondered if Ahsoka and Obi-Wan had found out yet that he was gone and if they were on their way.

“Is that all you got?” Anakin spat out, trying to sound confident.

But the pirates were no longer paying any attention to their prisoner, instead turning their attention to the emerging figures behind them. 

“Did you want more, Master?” Ahsoka shouted, her lightsabers glowing in the dimly lit tent. “Because I will gladly turn that thing on again!” she yelled angrily, fending off an attack by a pirate and dodging his blaster shot. 

“Just get me down!” Anakin shouted to whoever would listen. 

“Maybe we should keep you up there so you’ll stay in one place!” Obi-Wan growled as he parried a blow from a knife-wielding pirate behind him. He dodged a blaster bolt that hit the energy hook generator. 

Anakin’s wrists were still bound together as the hook disappeared and he fell flat on his face, unable to catch himself. The pain to his face, however, was nothing in comparison to the sudden stabbing pain he felt in his thigh. He groaned, turning over on the table and saw a long, sharp piece of metal sticking out of his inner thigh. 

_ Fuckfuckfuckfuck! _ He clutched at his leg with his still bound hands, trying to resist the almost unbearable urge to yank it out. 

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan barked the name, but his tone clearly betrayed his worry. He made quick work of the last pirate and shut off his lightsaber, rushing to Anakin’s side. “Ahsoka, grab his lightsaber,” he said, turning to her. “And find the holocron.”

“Fuuuuuck,” Anakin groaned, clutching tightly to his leg. 

“Let me see,” Obi-Wan said gently, removing Anakin’s hands from his leg. He quickly removed Anakin’s restraints and shock collar and bent over to examine the damage. “I can’t remove it here,” Obi-Wan observed. “But I can when we get back to camp.”

“That’s 3 klicks!” Anakin winced, banging his head back on the table in a vain attempt to relieve the pain radiating from his thigh. 

Anakin could tell Obi-Wan was holding back some kind of scolding that he was sure was coming later. Instead, Obi-Wan glanced back to make sure Ahsoka was not around and said softly, “I know, dear one. I’ll help you.” 

Anakin shut his mouth and nodded, steeling himself for the inevitable pain that would happen when he stood up. Obi-Wan took out his lightsaber and sliced off part of the piece of metal, making it more manageable for Anakin to move around. 

“Found it!” Ahsoka shouted from the other side of the room. She walked to where Anakin was trying to sit up, her face furious. 

“Help me get him up,” Obi-Wan instructed Ahsoka, placing one of Anakin’s arms around his shoulders. 

“I can do it,” Anakin protested. 

“You’ve lost the privilege of getting to decide that,” Obi-Wan scolded harshly. “Ahsoka, take his arm.”

“Ah!” Anakin grimaced and gritted his teeth as he put weight on his leg. 

“Ease onto it,” Obi-Wan instructed gently. “Use me for support.” 

Ahsoka backed off as Anakin became more stable on his feet and walked beside them, exiting the camp. 

Her expression became more and more furious as they walked slowly back towards the dig site. “Master, what were you thinking?” she practically screamed, not being able to hold it in any longer. 

Anakin turned his head sharply to face her. “I-”

“Now is not the time,” Obi-Wan cut in, grunting under the added weight. 

“But-” Ahsoka started. 

“Believe me,” Obi-Wan said sternly. “The time will come.” 

Ahsoka smirked at Anakin who ducked his head sheepishly at Obi-Wan’s warning. Any fight he previously felt suddenly draining from him. 

For once, he decided silence was the best course of action and focused instead on limping back to camp.The rest of the walk back to their tent was quiet, but Anakin knew this reprieve wouldn’t last long once they returned. 

The sun was just rising over the horizon as they entered their tent. Obi-Wan helped Anakin lower onto the closest cot and slowly pushed him so he was lying down. Anakin weakly protested, but gave in when Obi-Wan shot him a warning look. 

“Ahsoka, bring the medpack over here,” Obi-Wan said calmly and moved Anakin’s robes aside to get better access. He tore at the hole in Anakin’s pants that was already created, doing his best to not jostle the piece that was firmly implanted in Anakin’s thigh. 

“I’m going to pull this out,” Obi-Wan explained, his voice comforting. He put Anakin’s hand on his upper arm. “This is going to hurt,” he said plainly, opening the medpack and preparing what he needed. 

Anakin nodded and braced himself for what Obi-Wan was preparing to do.

“Ready?” Obi-Wan asked softly. 

Before Anakin could reply yes or no, Obi-Wan had already started pulling out the piece of metal.

“Fffuu-!” Anakin bit his lip and squeezed tightly at Obi-Wan’s arm. He tried to move his leg, but Obi-Wan’s body was firmly holding him in place. “Mmmpf,” he grunted, his eyes so tightly shut, tears were running down his cheeks. 

Obi-Wan finally removed the length of metal and tossed it aside, quickly replacing it with a piece of gauze to try and hold back the blood.

“Breathe, Anakin,” Obi-Wan reminded him softly as he picked up a stimpack. “Not quite done yet,” he soothed. He placed the injection as close as he dared to the open wound and heard Anakin’s hiss as it went in. 

“That was the worst of it,” Obi-Wan promised, offering a small smile as comfort. The injection worked quickly and when the bleeding had mostly stopped, Obi-Wan applied a bacta patch.

“That will have to do for now,” Obi-Wan said, his brow furrowed. “When we get back, you’re going to the medcenter.” 

“Fine,” Anakin rolled his eyes, realizing it wouldn’t do much good to fight him on this point. 

“No,” Obi-Wan fumed. “No, you don’t get to roll your eyes at me.” He turned to see Ahsoka staring at him, almost frightened by his sudden change in demeanor. 

“Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan said, his voice now calm. “Would you give us a minute?”

“Why?” she asked defiantly, crossing her arms. 

“Because I’m about to give your master the dressing-down of his life and I don’t think you should be here to see it,” Obi-Wan said simply, though the icy edge of his tone made Anakin shiver and he could feel his face burning. 

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes in anger at Anakin. “Give him one from me too,” she shot back and turned to leave. 

As soon as he was sure she was out of earshot, Obi-Wan turned his attention back to Anakin. “Anakin, I have  _ never _ been more angry with you,” he started, his voice raised. 

“That’s not the Jedi-”

“Don’t even try that,” Obi-Wan snapped, wiping any remaining smirk off of Anakin’s face. “Not only did you leave the mission to go off by yourself, you selfishly took matters into your own hands. What were you thinking?” he hissed. 

“I thought-” Anakin started. His voice sounded unbearably meek so he cleared his throat. “It was my fault that the holocron was already gone by the time we got here. I thought I could make it right.”

“Make what right?” Obi-Wan demanded. 

“I don’t know,” Anakin started. “I really don’t know, I just thought that-”

“No, you weren’t thinking,” Obi-Wan stopped him. “Not with your brain anyway.” 

Anakin ducked his head, feeling incredibly foolish. 

“Look at me when I’m talking to you,” Obi-Wan said firmly. 

“Yes, sir,” Anakin said in a small voice, looking up at him from beneath his lashes. 

Obi-Wan returned Anakin’s gaze, his eyes flitting over Anakin’s features. 

“I’m sorry,” Anakin tried and he truly meant it. 

“You were needlessly reckless,” Obi-Wan passed over the apology, not ready yet to accept it. “You could have died. For no reason other than, what? Your need to be right?”

“No!” Anakin snapped. “No, I thought I could  _ make _ things right.” 

Obi-Wan took a deep breath so as not to continue interrupting Anakin while he was trying to explain. “What were you trying to make right?” he asked as calmly as he could. 

“Everything,” Anakin said bitterly. “The ship, the walking, I don’t know.” He picked at the edge of his sleeve. 

“Look at me,” Obi-Wan corrected. 

“Three pirates are not exactly a challenge. I could have done that easily,” Anakin tried to sheepishly explain, doing his best to look Obi-Wan in the eyes. 

“We knew it was  _ at least _ three,” Obi-Wan frowned. 

Anakin let out a sharp laugh. “Well, you were right about that,” he said dryly, returning his attention to his sleeve. 

Obi-Wan took Anakin’s chin in his hand, turning Anakin’s head to face him so he couldn’t look away.

“Your padawan is meant to learn from your example,” Obi-Wan said. “When she found out you weren’t here…” he trailed off. “When  _ I _ found out you weren’t here...” he sighed. “Anakin, you  _ can’t _ do that. We work as a unit. Together.”

Anakin stopped himself from offering another excuse.

“You can  _ never _ pull something like this again,” Obi-Wan continued. “Do you understand me?”

Anakin nodded as best he could with Obi-Wan’s hand still on his chin. 

“Answer me.”

“Yes, Master,” Anakin obeyed immediately. “I’m sorry,” he tried again.

Obi-Wan sighed. “I know you are,” he said eventually. 

“Is- is that it?” Anakin asked hesitantly. 

“You want more?” Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at Anakin. He loosened his grip on Anakin’s chin and moved his hand to cup Anakin’s cheek.

Anakin shook his head, savoring the feel of Obi-Wan’s calloused hand against his cheek. “No,” he insisted. He had never felt so thoroughly chastised and it hurt more coming from Obi-Wan. He wasn’t joking when he said it would be the dressing-down of Anakin’s life. He didn’t know what else to say, but watched as Obi-Wan’s features softened. “I love you,” Anakin mumbled, his voice shaky. 

“I love you too,” Obi-Wan said softly. 

“I’m sorry,” Anakin said again. 

Obi-Wan rubbed his thumb over Anakin’s cheek. “I know, darling.” He pulled Anakin in close, their foreheads touching. He could feel his blood pressure lowering already, replaced by sheer relief. “I shouldn’t have gotten so angry. I let fear get the better of me,” he kissed Anakin’s nose. “I apologize.”

“I might have deserved it,” Anakin murmured in amusement. 

“And more,” Obi-Wan mused.

Anakin scoffed, but squirmed at the implication, wincing when he moved his leg. “Maybe,” he shrugged. 

“Mm-hmm,” Obi-Wan assured. “It was a stupid thing you did.”

“I’m going to be hearing about this for a while, aren’t I?” 

“You’re safe and that’s all that matters,” Obi-Wan soothed. “I’m not going to hold it over you. Just-” 

“I won’t do it again,” Anakin said. “Unless I really have to,” he tried a small joke. 

“Try it again and next time I might just leave you hanging from that hook,” Obi-Wan teased, pulling Anakin in for a kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> Recognize the plot? It's another bastardized version of an already written Star Wars story... _Star Wars: Age of the Republic - Obi-Wan Kenobi_ (2019) #1. 
> 
> Phew! Thanks for taking the time to read through it! I know it's not necessarily my usual fair, but I guess they can't be banging all the time. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ (Don't worry, we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming soon enough!)
> 
> Thanks for reading and thanks for any comments!!


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